Collapsible golf bag carrier



Sept 17; 1957 H. e. WATSON COLLAPSIBLE GOLF BAG QARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 20, 1955 I NveN-ro K H u GH G. wA-rsoN ATTQKNSY H. G. wAToN 2,806,709

COLLAPSIBLE GOLF BAG CARRIER Sept 17, 1957 Filed Dec. 20. 1955 ZfiSheets-Sheet 2 MW Z7 mvamo Af-ro RNEZY States atent ice COLLAPSELE GOLF BAG C 1'; I R

Hugh Glass Watson, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Marie 1. C. Watson, doing business as Wyllie Webb Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application December 20, 1955, Serial No. 554,240

Claims. (Cl. 28038) This invention relates to a collapsible carrier and is particularly directed to providing improvements in Wheeled carriers of the type used for carrying golf bags.

Golf bag carriers are well known and are relatively widely used for carrying golf bags and clubs over golf courses. Usually they are in the form of a frame adapted to receive and carry a golf bag and are supported on wheels. The carrier is designed so that it may be moved from place to place and is self-supporting in an upright position in which the golf clubs are readily accessible and i usually collapsible for storage in a limited space.

Golf bag carriers of this type are disclosed in my Canadian Patents No. 467,614 dated August 29, 1950, and No. 469,296 dated November 4, 1950, and United States Patent No. 2,517,065 dated August 1, 1950.

One of the important objects of this invention i to provide a light and sturdy golf bag carrier which may be moved easily from place to place and which stands in an upright position so that the golf clubs are readily accessible.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of golf bag carriers by means of which the carrier when in use may be locked firmly in operative position without danger of collapse and which may be readily unlocked and folded in one motion for storage in a very restricted space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible carrier which can be locked in collapsed position and can he wheeled when in such collapsed position as well as when in running condition.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide a collapsible carrier having an adjustable handle which can be adjusted for tilt without appreciably changing the distance between the wheels.

The present invention comprises, in general, a collapsible golf bag carrier having a handle pivotally attached to a main frame member, means for mounting a golf bag on said main frame member, leg members pivotally connected at their inner ends to said main frame and wheels rotatably mounted at the outer end of said leg members. The improved arrangement of parts by means of which the golf bag carrier is adjusted from and to its collapsed and running positions comprises linkage means which eX- tend from each of said leg member to a member slidably mounted on said said main frame, means for transmitting the movement of the handle to the slide member whereby said leg members are brought towards and extended from said main frame member, and means for releasably locking the leg member in fixed position relative to said main frame member.

The invention further resides in the provision of means for maintaining said wheels substantially in upright position throughout all positions of adjustment of said leg members.

An tmderstanding of the manner in which the above and other objects of the invention may be attained may be had from the following description reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a golf bag carrier incorporating the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the golf bag carrier in half open position; I

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the carrier in half open position, with the handle broken away;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the carrier in a collapsed position;

Figure 5 is a detail'view of the handle mounting and handle locking device;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the handle locking device;

Figure 7 is a cross-section of the handle locking means taken along the line 77 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a cross-section of the upper end of the tubular carrying member taken along the line 88 of Figure 3.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawings,

Referring to the embodiment of the invention in the drawings, the numeral 16 indicates a frame, preferably in the form of a single tubular member. Bag-supporting members 12 and 12a are bolted or clamped to the forward and lower ends respectively of the frame 10, and are adapted to receive and hold a golf bag 11 for convenient carriage around a golf course. In a preferred embodiment spring members 13 are shown, the ends of which are attached to the bag-supporting members through the holes 1 and 14a, as indicated in Figure 1, to assist in holding the bag in position. For convenience, one of the holes 1 may be left open in the form of a hook to permit easy attachment and detachment of the spring member when a golf bag is placed on the carrier or removed therefrom.

The base of the golf bag is supported by a bracket 15 secured to the lower end of the frame.

The wheels 18 are mounted on a conventional axle forming part of an axle housing 43 which i pivotally connected to leg members 17. The upper ends of leg members 17 are pivotally mounted in a housing 16 secured to frame 10 about midway of its length. In a preferred embodiment the use of secondary leg members 17:: are disclosed, parallel to said leg members 17, to provide further support, and with the further object of stabilizing the movement of the Wheels, as will appear hereinafter.

The pivotal movement of legs 17 is actuated by a sliding member 24 which is freely slidably mounted on frame 10 through links 25 which are pivotally connected to the leg members 17-17a and to the sliding member 24, The spacing of the leg members from their fully extended position a illustrated in Figure l to their fully retracted position is effected by the position of the sliding member 24 on frame 10. As the sliding member 24 is moved toward or away from the housing 16, the links 25 extend the legs 1717a away from or retract them towards the frame 10. The extended position of the legs 17-17a i the preferred normal running position of the golf. cart, and it will be observed that any further minor adjustment of the slide 24 in either direction will not cause any appreciable change in the spacing of the wheels, and in this position there is no component force tending to move the slide 24 along the frame 10.

An elongated rigid handle 19, preferably of tubular form, which is only partly shown in the drawings, is pivotally secured to the upper end of the frame 10 by a mounting bracket 20. The handle may be provided with a grip portion of any conventional design.

A two-piece locking member 21 having a split bushing 40 is mounted for sliding movement on said handle 19, and is provided with flanges 41 at 'each end extend ing beyond the two-piece locking member 21 to prevent the split bushing from sliding out of engagement with the locking member. The two-piece locking frame is bolted together by bolts 27, and I provide an internallythreaded locking lever 26 which acts as a nut on the thread of one of the bolts 27 to tighten the locking member and thus lock it in position on handle 19.

A pair of rods 23 extend between locking member 21 and clamp 20, being pivotally connected thereto, and regulate the movement of the locking member 21 on handle 19.

A control rod 22 is pivotally connected at one end to the locking member 21 and at the opposite end to the sliding member 24, to transmit the movement of the handle member 19to slide 24 in adjusting the position of the wheels. It will thus be seen that when the handle 19 is not locked in position by locking member 21, movement of handle B will cause a corresponding movement of locking member 21, which movement in turn is transmitted to slide 24 by the action of control rod 22.

In Figure 1 the golf cart is shown in running position with the locking member 21 firmly locked against movement on handle 19. In this position, it will be observed that the links 25 are substantially at right angles to the frame 10 so that any slight adjustment of the handle by means of the locking member to provide a better balance for pulling the golf cart, will not cause any substantial lateral displacement of Wheels 13. Figure 3 clearly shows the relative positions of lock ing member 21 on handle 19 and the slide 24 on frame 10. v Figure 4 shows the golf cart in folded position, particularly indicating the position of slide 24 on frame 10 when the cart is collapsed.

When it is desired to fold the golf cart from normal running position to collapsed position for storage or carrying, the locking lever 26 is turned counterclockwise on. the thread of bolt 27 to release the pressure of locking member 21 on split bushing so that it may move freely on handle 19.

The handle 1? is then pushed downwardly pivoted at .A and as it moves towards frame 1f the action of rods 23 will force the locking member 21 along handle D. At the same time, a downward thrust will be exerted on control rod 22, which movement is transmitted by the direct action of control rod 22 on the sliding member 24, moving it downwardly on the frame 10 and pulling the wheels 18 into retracted position by means of links 25. The locking member 21 may then be tightened on handle 19 by means of locking lever 26, to hold the assembly firmly in collapsed position.

It will be observed that the opening and closing of this golf bag carrier can be accomplished very quickly and easily in one simple and direct motion. Furthermore, it will be apparent that due to toe manner in which the cart is folded the wheels are in proper position for use in Wheeling the cart when in closed position. This adaptability results from the action of the parallel leg members 17, 17a in conjunction with the pivoting thereof at the bottom in the axle housing 43 and at the top in the housing 16. By this parallel action, the wheels are maintained substantially parallel to the frame it), in both open and closed positions of the cart, and hence are always in proper running position.

It is also pointed out that by the above arrangement of the'wheels and leg assembly in conjunction with the particular locking mechanism described and illustrated herein, it is possible to adjust the handle 19 to any desired angle for the most satisfactory running position.

It has been found that the pivoting of the leg members 17. and 1721 where they extend into the housing 16, and Where'they extend into the axle housing 43 may be carried out by the use of expanding spring pins 44 which are held in position by spring pressure exerted on said housing 16 and axle housing 43. The ends of such spring pins 44 may be flanged or burred to assist in holding them in position.

The following is a description of one of the features of the present construction which is of definite advantage over the constructions heretofore in use, namely the constant upright angular displacement of the wheels. The stabilizing action of the secondary leg members 17a in conjunction with the leg members 17 is due to the pivotal arrangement of each end of the parallel leg members. At the top end, the leg members are pivotally secured to the housing 16, and at the bottom end, they are pivotally secured to the axle housing 43. Since the leg members 17 and secondary leg members 17a are parallel to each other, and as they are joined in a parallelogram formed by the pivotal connections in the housing and axle housing, the angle of the axle housing will vary in accordance with the adjustment of said leg members, and will maintain the wheels substantially upright at all angles of adjustment of the golf bag carrier.

it should be observed, however, that the present invention will work equally well with a fixed leg and axle arrangement, insofar as the features of locking and adjustability are concerned.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the preferred embodiment of the invention described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States of America:

1. in a collapsible golf bag carrier having a main frame member, means for supporting a golf bag on said main frame member, a handle pivotally secured at the forward end of said main frame member, leg members pivotally secured to said main frame member and wheels rotatably mounted on the free ends of said leg member, the improvement which comprises a sliding member slidably mounted on the main frame member, a link extending from each leg member to said sliding member, a housing slidably mounted on said handle member, a rigid rod member extending between and pivotally secured at one end to said housing and secured at the other end to said sliding member, a link extending between said rod member and the forward end of the main frame member and releasable means for locking said housing in fixed position on said handle.

2. in a collapsible golf bag carrier having a main frame member, means for supporting a golf bag on said main frame. member, a handle pivotally secured at the forward end of said main frame member, leg members pivotally secured to said main frame member and wheels rotatably mounted on the free ends of said leg member, the improvement which comprises a sliding member slidably mounted on the main frame. member, a link extending from each leg member to said sliding member, a housing slidably mounted on said handle member, a rigid rod member extending between and pivotally secured at one end to said housing and secured at the other end to said sliding member, a link extending between said rod member and the forward end of the main frame member, releasable means for locking said housing in fixed position on said handle, and means for maintaining said wheels in upright position throughout all movement of said sliding member on said main frame. 3. A collapsible golf bag carrier according to claim 2 in which a fixed housing is mounted on the main frame member about midway of its length, each leg member is plvotally connected at one end to said fixed housing and at the other end is pivotally connected to an axle housing, and a wheel is rotatably mounted on an axle carried by each axle housing, whereby said wheels are retained in parallel relationship during the retraction and extension of said leg members towards and away from said main frame member.

4. A golf bag carrier according to claim 2 in which the slidable housing mounted on said handle member comprises a split bushing slidably mounted on the handle member, a housing mounted on said split bushing, means carried by said housing for securing the adjacent end of said rod member thereto in pivotal relation, and means for locking said split bushing in selected position on said handle member.

5. In a collapsible golf bag carrier having a main frame member, a handle member pivotally connected at one end to the forward end of said main frame member, means for mounting a golf bag on the main frame member, a pair of leg members pivotally secured to the main frame member, the improved arrangement of parts for adjusting the carrier from and to collapsed and running positionswhich comprises a sliding member freely slidably mounted on the frame member, a rigid link member extending between each leg member and said sliding member, a

housing slidably mounted on said handle member, a rigid 15 rod member pivotally secured at one end to said slidable housing and at the other end to said sliding member, a rigid link member extending between said slidable housing and the forward end of said main frame member, the point of connection of said last mentioned rigid link member to said main frame member being offset from the point of connection of said handle member to the main frame member, and releasable means for locking said housing in fixed position on said handle.

Chamberlin Ian. 27, 1953 Jamieson Aug. 4, 1953 

